Lamp-bulb holder



Jan. 17, 1928. 1,656,729' I c. E. GODLEY LAMP BULB HOLDER Filed Jan. 25, 1926 all Patented Jan. 17, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

CHARLES E. GODLEY, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AEJSZGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

T0 0. M. HALL LAME COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

LAMP-BULB HOLDER.

Application filed Januar My invention relates to a support for holding an incandescent lamp of the type having anchoring pins pro ectlng laterally from opposite sides oi its base, so as to supportsuch a lamp bulb in operative relation to a separately mounted resilient base contact.

Generally speaking, my inventionaims to provide an exceedingly simple and inexpensive bulb support which can readily be manufactured of sheet metal, which will effectively prevent the lamp bulb from rocking about its anchoring pins, and which will prevent the base of the lamp bulb from being unduly pressed toward the associated resilient base contact during the attaching of the bulb to the holder. Furthermore, my invention aims to provide a bulb support of this class which can readily be constructed as an integral part of a partition in a compartmental lamp and aims to provide blanks and methods for readily manufacturing such bulb supports out of ordinary grades of metal.

In United States Patent No. 1,602,220, issued October 5, 1926, on a combination tail lamp, I have shown a lamp casing divided into two compartments by a partition having a perforation through which the base otone lamp bulb extends so as to dispose the filament of the lamp bulb in one compartment while holding the base terminal of the lamp bulb in engagement with a resilient contact mounted in the other compartment. In lamp constructions of this general type, it has heretofore been customary to provide the partition with downwardly open forks for receiving the anchoring pins on the of the lamp bulb. While such an arrangement enables the corresponding resilient'contact to hold the bulb in operative position,

the downward opening of the pin-receiving forks permits acareless user to press the bulbtoo far when inserting its base through the opening in the partition, thereby overstraining the resilient contactso that this will no longer hold the bulb firmly in its operative position.

In one of its important aspects, my invention provides a bulb holder arranged to obviate this difficulty by positively limiting the inserting movement of the base of the lamp bulb, while still permitting the holder to be constructed integral with, the partition. My invention also provides construction for this purpose which will also afi'ord in- 25, 1926. Serial No. 83,749.

Fig. l is a central,vertical and longitudt nal section through a compartmental lamp of the type disclosed in my said Patent No. 1,602,220, showing my bulbholder as formed integral with a single partition which'also has at its rear end a downward extension supporting'the corresponding resilient contact.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the partition member of the same lamp and otthe companion lamp socket carried by it.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged and fragmentary vertical section taken through the partition member of Fig. 2 along the line 3'3.

Fig. a is a similarly enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken at right angles to that of Fig. 3. i

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view ofthe central portion of the partition.

Fig. 6 isa plan View of the central portion of the partition, showing the initially blanked perforations in the same, with parallel dotted lines showing the shearing cuts made by the dies during the subsequent forming of the upwardly directed wings and of the downwardly directedpin-anchoring ears, and with a dotted circle indicating the contour of the bulb-base receiving perfora tion in the finished holder. i j 1 Fig.7 is a plan view of a tripod type of support embodying my invention, and Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the same.

'Inthe drawings, Fig. 1 shows an automobile lamp in which the casing is divided into upper and lower compartments a directed wings l adjacent to diametrically opposite sides of the said perforation and each provided with a bayonet slot. for interlocking with one of the usual two laterally projeetii'ig pins (ion the base ol' the lamp bulb. The partition also has a pair of integral and upwardly pri'ijecting webs T diametrically opposite each other and disposed with their vertical center lines spaced approximately 90 degrees almut-the axis ol the perforation :lrom the slot notches 5 with which the pins (5 interlock when the lamp bulb is soelrelcd in the thus arranged holder formation of the partition.

Secured to the depenriling web 2 of the partitioning member, but. insulated from it by insulating members 8 and 9, is one arm 10 of a resilient contact member which has its other arm 11 extending across the axis ol. the said perforation below the partition so as to contact with the usual axial terminal 12 of the lamp bulb, the contact member being formed so that this contact arm 11 is continuously flexed upward by the resiliency of the contact member.

To provide such bulb-holding portions integral with a sheet metal partition, I first punch the partition to provide two substantially L-shaped apertures as shown in Fig. 6 and also to provide a spaee' aperture 1:3 between the said L-shaped apertures. Then I simultaneously form the dmrnwardly directed webs 4 from the metal parts at couposite sides of the spacer aperture, and torn:

the upward wings 7 from metal portions respectively above and below the said spacer aperture. To aceon'iplish this without tearing the. metal, I provide dies which slit the metal along two dotted lines let flush with the upper and lower ends of the spacer aperture.

I also dispose the said L-shaped perforations in the original blanking so that the free ends of the shanks 5 of these perforations extend beyond the periphery of the proposed base-receiving perforation 15.

By operating in this manner, I cause the formed holder portion of the partition to present two diametrically opposite and vertical slot portions, as shown in Fig. 5, each of which hasits upper or entrance end extending into the adjacent horizontal partition part beyond the outside diameter of the lower webforming holder portions, thereby permitting the ready insertion of a lamp bulb base carrying pins 6 which project from the base for a distance greater than the thickness of the metal from which my holdercarrying partition is formed. By extending the slits 13 beyond the resulting perforation 15, I permit the downwardly directed webs {to be connected to the horizontal partition portion 1 by junetures which are curved as shown in Fig. at, thereby avoiding a rupturing of the metal and also facilitatit the insertion of the lamp bulb base. I likewise permit the iuiiwardly directed wings 7 to have i'lll'Vil'lg junctures with the horizontal partition portions, and permit both the said webs and the said wings lo b rumored toward each other in t'lfbt approach to the diameter of a standard lamp bulb lltltlfll'lltll'tl by enabling the upward wings "i' to be highly ell'ectirc for preventing the lamp bulb l'rom rocking about its locking pins.

When the. base end of the lamp bulb is inserted through the partition l'rom above, the bottoms 1(3 of the bayonet slots engage the lamp base plus [J so as to limit the inserb in; movement. Hence the resilient contact member cannot be overstrained and bent out of proper operative shape by an undue downward pressure on the lamp bulb.

However, while I have heretofore described my invention as employed in connection with a partition member of a eompartmental lamp, I do not wish to be limited to such an embodiment, as the same bulb holder arrangei'nent might be en'iployed in other connections and with other provisions than a do pending web for supporting the same. For example, Figs. 7 and 8 show a bulb holder employing the same features, in which the metal portion 17 adjacent to the holder for mations supported by three legs so as to constitute a. tripod type oi bulb support.

I claim as my invention:

1. For use with a lamp bulb baring laterally projecting pins on its base, a. holder formed of sheet material and ha ring a pertoration therein; the holder l'iarinii' two pairs of wings adjacent to the 'un'il'oration, with the wings of each pair at ijlianu-itrically opprb site sides ot the perihration and with the two pairs displaced about ninety degrees Ill'CllllllGl'Ontlilll v of the perforation from each other; each wing of one pair baring a bayonet slot including an entrance slot. portion extending parallel to the axis oi the perforation and terminating at a distance from the free end of that wing, and also in cluding a transverse portion extending circum'terentially of the said axis from the said terminating end of the entrance slot portion.

2. A lamp bulb holder as per claim 1, in whichthe perforation in the holder has a pair of radial extensions respectively alining with the entrance slot portions of the two bayonet slots for admitting the lamp bulb pins to the said entrance slot portions, the said perforation extensions extending radially of the said wings respectively beyond the outer faces of the wings.

A blank for making a lamp-bulb holder so as to provide two pairs of dian ietrically opposite wings extending respectively in opposite directions transverse of a portion. of the holder and adjacent a perforation in the same; ci'n'nprising a sheet metal blank prmided with two relatively reversed L- shaped perforations having parallel shanks disposed entirely Within the contour of the proposed perforation and having their other shanks laterally offset from each other and extending in opposite directions parallel to each other beyond the said contour, the blank also having an elongated perforation disposed between the first named perforation shanks and extending substantially parallel to the latter and terminating Within the said contour.

Signed at Detroit, Michigan, January 21, 1926.

CHARLES E. GODLEY. 

